OSU's Poyer, UO's Barner named to All-America teams

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Oregon State senior cornerback Jordan Poyer and Oregon running back Kenjon Barner were named to Sporting News and Walter Camp Foundation All-America teams on Thursday.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Oregon State senior cornerback Jordan Poyer and Oregon running back Kenjon Barner were named to Sporting News and Walter Camp Foundation All-America teams on Thursday.

Poyer became the first OSU player to be named to the Walter Camp team since receiver Mike Hass in 2005.

Earlier this week, Poyer, a native of Astoria, was selected to the CBSSports.com First Team All-America squad and last week he became the first OSU player since Andy Levitre to be named a First Team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). Poyer is tied for No. 2 in the nation with seven interceptions this season and was a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award (top cornerback) and the Bednarik Award (top defensive player).

A co-team captain, Poyer helped OSU tie for the best turnaround in college football this season with a six-game improvement from 2011 to 2012.

Barner was previously named to the Pac-12 Conference all-league first team as well as the American Football Coaches Association's first-team All-America contingent, and was one of three finalists for the Doak Walker Award, given to the nation's top running back.

The Riverside, Calif., standout ran for 1,624 yards and scored 22 touchdowns this season to rank fifth in the country in rushing (135.3 avg.) and tied for sixth in scoring (11.0 ppg). He also tied for third nationally in TDs scored while ascending to second on the Ducks' all-time single-season scoring list (132 points) and fourth on the one-year rushing ledger. Barner eclipsed the 100-yard rushing plateau in seven of 12 appearances this season and ran for 195 yards or more four times, including a career-high 321 yards (and five touchdowns) at USC.

He joins former teammate LaMichael James as a recipient of the All-America honor as the Ducks' all-time rushing leader was named to the Walter Camp All-America Team each of the last two years.

The 2012 Walter Camp Player of the Year and members of the All-America team will be honored at the organization's national awards banquet on Saturday, January 12, at the Yale University Commons in New Haven, Conn. In addition, the Foundation will also recognize former Nebraska coach Tom Osborne and NFL player/coach Herm Edwards.

Walter Camp, "The Father of American Football," first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp — a former Yale University athlete and football coach — is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation — a New Haven based all-volunteer group — was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team.